The New Jersey Devils defeated the Minnesota Wild 5-2 on Saturday evening in Saint Paul. Less than 24 hours after a tough loss in Winnipeg, the Devils bounced back with maybe their best 60-minute effort since the holiday break. New Jersey picked up two important points in the standings, improving to 39-29-7. With the loss, the Wild fell to 41-28-5.
Game Recap
Period One
The Devils struck early, just 29 seconds in, with a goal off a rebound by Nico Hischier for his 31st of the season. Jesper Bratt and Stefan Noesen tallied the assists. Luke Hughes didn’t get a point on the board but made an excellent play in front of Jacob Markstrom to eliminate a scoring chance for Minnesota and begin the breakout.
New Jersey extended its lead just minutes later, with a sharp-angle shot by Paul Cotter that snuck through Filip Gustavson at 5:46. Brian Dumoulin and Nolan Foote had the assists.
The Wild had a good look, but Markstrom came up with a big save to preserve the two-goal lead.
The Devils kept the pressure on and fired everything toward the net. Notably, Gustavsson left some big rebounds up for grabs.
The Wild had their best shift of the game and scored at 16:31, with a shot deflected in by Marcus Foligno. Jared Spurgeon and Gustav Nyquist had the assists.
New Jersey answered with a strong shift but couldn’t regain the two-goal lead.
With just a few seconds left in the period, Johnathan Kovacevic and Foligno were each tagged with minor penalties, Kovacevic for cross-checking and Foligno for embellishment, and the teams finished the frame skating 4-on-4.
The Devils outshot the Wild 10-7 in the opening 20 minutes.
Period Two
The Devils had a few good looks during the 4-on-4 but couldn’t get anything past Gustavsson.
Markstrom made a few early saves on shots from a distance and looked to be laboring. The training staff began making their way out to him but were waved off.
The Devils applied more pressure, and Cotter caught a stick in the face, but no penalty was assessed. Timo Meier fired a hard shot off the ensuing face-off that was blocked in front.
Dumoulin was hit in the numbers by Foligno, and Kovacevic dropped the gloves to defend his teammate. Foligno was assessed a five-minute fighting major but nothing for boarding Dumoulin. Kovacevic also received five minutes for fighting and an additional two minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Duomolin remained in the game.
The Devils killed the penalty and during the next television timeout, Sheldon Keefe had a long conversation with the official, Chris Rooney, undoubtedly discussing the lack of a boarding call and subsequent extra penalty to Kovacevic.
The Wild drove the net hard, and Markstrom took exception, leaving his crease to mix things up behind the net.
Minnesota surged, but the Devils weathered the storm and protected their lead. The Hischier line turned the tides back in favor of New Jersey with an extended shift in the O-zone.
The Devils had a three-on-one opportunity that looked like a sure goal, but the puck ricocheted off Meier’s skate and out. Luke Hughes got a quick shot off the face-off as time expired, but New Jersey carried the one-goal lead into the third.
The Devils were outshot 12-11 in the middle frame.
Period Three
The Minnesota Wild had the edge on the first shift of the period, but the Devils quickly gained momentum and cashed in at 3:13 with Hischier’s 32nd goal of the season, a career-high for the captain. His goal was unassisted.
The Wild answered just minutes later after a shot deflected off the post and sat in the blue paint behind Markstrom, allowing Ryan Hartman to push it over the line. Foligno and Zach Bogosian had the assists. The goal came on Minnesota’s first shot of the period.
Erik Haula hauled down Yakov Trenin to prevent a breakaway chance and was sent off for two minutes. The Devils killed the penalty without issue.
Markstrom made a huge save on a shot from the slot as the Wild pushed to tie the game. Kovacevic stepped up to block a heavy shot and prevent a scoring chance.
Noesen had his stick slashed out of his hands, which sent the Devils to the man advantage with just over six minutes left in the game.
At 14:50, Hischier completed his second hat trick of the season, gloving down a shot off the glass and wristing it past Gustavsson. Luke Hughes and Bratt tallied the assists.
The Devils kept their foot on the gas, and at 16:46, Tomas Tatar put the dagger in the game with a top-shelf snipe for New Jersey’s fifth goal. Ondrej Palat and Justin Dowling had the assists.
New Jersey outshot Minnesota 33-24 in the victory.
Takeaways
Follow the Leader
The Devils go as their Captain goes, and with New Jersey needing a strong performance, Nico Hischier led the way, scoring three goals on three shots for his second hat trick of the season and his career. He also tallied a new career-high in goals scored, eclipsing the 31 he scored in 2022-23.
Of course, Hischier doesn’t just bring the offense. He also provides stellar defense and always puts himself in the right spot to interrupt plays. Additionally, he takes the majority of the faceoffs for New Jersey and consistently wins when the Devils need him. Against the Wild, he won 14 of his draws, good for a 70% success rate.
His performance was mirrored by the rest of the team. The Devils were sharp from puck drop and jumped on Minnesota early, going up two goals in under six minutes. They had sustained O-zone time and put 33 shots on Gustavsson, their first time surpassing 30 shots in a game since February 23rd, against the Nashville Predators, when they tallied 36 shots and posted a 5-0 shutout.
Regarding the remaining games, the Devils should aim to replicate their performance in Minnesota. Lacking offensive weapons like Jack Hughes and Dougie Hamilton, New Jersey must find new ways to generate offense, and simply getting pucks to the net can create scoring chances. In Minnesota, for example, they had numerous rebound opportunities, making it difficult for the Wild’s defense and goaltender to handle the puck.
Marky’s Back
Jacob Markstrom’s performance against the Wild was encouraging. Since returning from injury, he has been okay but hasn’t been the game-saver that he was before injury. He picked up a win in his last outing against the Chicago Blackhawks, but his outing against the Wild was particularly impressive and on par with his excellent goaltending that Devils fans became accustomed to. The only two shots that beat Markstrom were deflections.
Markstrom saved 22 of 24 shots for a .917 SV%. If the Devils want to make a deep playoff run, they need to have both of their goalies playing their best, and this was a big step in the right direction for Markstrom.
Up Next
The Devils head home, where they will, again, take on the Minnesota Wild on Monday night in the second and final meeting of the season between the teams.
New Jersey will look to correct some of the recent struggles they have had at the Prudential Center. They have lost their last three home games, including two blown third-period leads.
The Wild have been much better on the road this season. They hold a 22-11-3 record away from the Xcel Energy Center.
Additionally, barring a playoff meeting, Monday’s contest will be the last time the Devils face goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, who plans to retire following the conclusion of the season. Fleury is a 21-year veteran of the NHL and has racked up the accolades in that time, earning three Stanley Cup Championships and a Vezina Trophy.
He also ranks second all-time in regular season wins by a goaltender in league history, with 573. The only goalie with more victories is Devils legend Martin Brodeur, who has 691.
Puck drop at The Rock is set for 7:00 p.m. EST on MSGSN, FDSNNO and NHLN.
ITR 32: The Final Countdown – Inside The Rink
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